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The North American P-51 Mustang
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P-51 Who?   Case # 23
44-74012     N6519D     Closed
Solved by: Sully
P-51 Who 23
Case#: 23
Date: May 27 1999
By: Howard Chilton
Photo: N651__
Texas, early 60's
Status: Closed
Serial: 44-74012
Registry: N6519D
P-51 Who? Viewer Responses
Dan Martin
06/08/1999 21:41
Here's my theory, 651_ is probably 6517D, X-RCAF 9595, 182XF, 182X, now its Clay Lacy's 64CL. 44-74423
Sully
06/18/1999 14:41
N6519D s/n 44-74012. It was in the Texas area in the early 60's. It eventually became Leroy Penhall's for a while. The two N numbers N6519D and N6518D were used by mistake on different P-51s which makes this a little difficult to be sure. In the late '50s, 44-63872 was painted with N6519D but was registered N6518D. It was painted correctly in 1961. This photo was shot when N6519D was painted on 44-74012, which had N6518D painted on it in the late 50's and possibly into the early 60's.
Joseph Scheil
06/19/1999 19:13
A strange one but the paint is familiar I think.. Two Mustangs shared identities after being surplused from the RCAF, 9552 and 9243. The one photographed could be 44-63872, 9552. She was surplused and painted as 6519D. In 1961 she was remarked as 6518D and made her way through a number of owners until 1969 when Tom Kuchinsky purcased 19D and raced her as # 18. Twenty nine years ago on June 27 1970 they both perished in Harlingen.
MustangsMustangs
06/23/1999 12:00
This makes it confusing. The owner of this plane years ago has indicated that this photo is of N6519D. It was taken in Addison TX in the early 60's. N6519D is owned today by James Smith of Kalispell MT and it is flying.


To add to the confusion, this P-51 has been identified as N651D because the reader recognized the paint job as his own design (Bill Brownell) in the late '50s. If you look at the photo and check the history of N651D, it is possible...

Another possibility was N6517D, 44-74423 ...

MustangsMustangs
08/01/1999 12:00
After in depth close-up work of the N number its not conclusive at all. It's possible that the number after "1" could be 8, 9, 7, or "D". If this P-51 is N651D 44-73857, then it did not survive. It served in the RCAF as 9244 and was later a modified racer "Miss Phoebe II". It later owned by Don Plumb and then John Boulton who was killed in this P-51 when it crashed in Big Spring TX, October '75.


The owner of this aircraft said it was N6519D (which one I'm not sure). The chief pilot and paint designer at the time for Trans Florida Aviation believes it is N651D.


So, the final word? DO SOME MORE DIGGING!

Dennis Pearson
12/08/1999 12:37
I just found your photos in these 3 particular cases here and they have a personal note for me. I have this original photo, or at least a copy of it. I never knew the N numbers but at this time (early '60s) they were owned I believe by a man named Joe Trujillo (Truhill) somewhere in TX (Addison). He was rebuilding them for resale. I know because on the bottom of my photo it shows "Joe's Air Force" ' ... my dad flew with Joe in the service. Joe had to stop on his way to Florida because of engine trouble. He was delivering the mustang to a new owner and happen to stop in their town ... my dad helped put a new head gasket on to get the P-51 back in the air.
Curtis Fowles
04/24/2011 19:21
After 12 years, I cannot find another pic of this aircraft to verify the N#. Stepping through all the theories:

Martin: N6517D was reg N182X in 1959 so time from of pic does not work.

Sully: N6519D, 44-74012 - plausible - owned by Aero Ent. at that time.

Scheil: N6518D, 44-63872 - maybe: reg as N6518D in Apr 1960. Owned by Gerald Walburn. This pic is only as "early 60's" so ... maybe but probably too early.

Pearson: Joe Truhill comes up as owner of one of the P-51s (N835J) in that line. If he owned the others, they were not registered in his name.

So the best guess is to go (stay) with N6519D.

DAVID DANIELSON
12/19/2014 05:35
Looking at this photo I can think of only one thing about it that prop on that plane is polished and I remember when my uncle Norman Danielson would do that on a P51 he would get so mad if they would fly in the rain, then he would need to redo the prop to get it to look good.
I will ask my Dad what P51 it was that he polished.
If it is the P51 that I think it is John Boulton and my uncle Norman Danielson were in it when they crashed on October 15,1975
Ken Lantz N651D
12/10/2018 23:03
N651D was owned by Johnny Bolton of Maitand, Fl. He named the plane “Hi Honey”. When he purchased N651D, it was painted in civilian colors of white, orange and black. Bolton repainted it in military Colors (Silver with red candy stripes on tail and yellow and red itrim on wing tips and nose. JBB was the ID on the fuselage. I had the privilege of riding in this Mustang on several occasions. Norm kept the bird spotless. Tragically Johnny and Norm perished in a crash on the way back from Texas to Florida along with Don Plumb in his P-51. The photo below is not N651D. Johnny Bolton previously owned a P-38 (N3JB) and T-6 prior to the P-51 N651D.
Case Closed!
P-51 Mustang

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